The garden needed to be decontaminated. Photo / 123RF
A new report has revealed how an Aussie father caused a nuclear incident after urinating in his back garden after receiving radiotherapy.
The man had self-discharged from hospital after receiving radiotherapy involving nuclear medicine, before returning home and relieving himself in his back garden, an act which exposed his family
to radiation.
The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPNSA) report states: "A patient was permitted to self-discharge from hospital following administration of 3.5 GBq Iodine-131 (I-131). The patient did not follow the instructions provided and contaminated a residence, which resulted in exposure to the patient's family.
"The contamination was primarily of the rear yard where the patient urinated outside. Communication issues with the patient were identified as a factor in this incident."
The report does not reveal why the man didn't take the more conventional approach of using the toilet.